Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA - Belhaven Brewery Company Ltd.

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.05/5  rDev -18%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle. These idiots put it in a clear bottle for export. Luckily I noticed they changed labels and got it fresh. I also pulled it form the back of the shelf.

It pours a decent orangeish gold with a big foamy white head that leaves rings of nice lacing.

The smell is a bit disappointing despite being fresh. It has a bit of limey hops, and a bit of earthiness. It also has some noticeable buttery diacetyl

The flavor is a bit better, still too buttery though. It is a bit tangy with some light citrus and some grassy herbal hoppiness. It isn't bitter at all with a smooth caramally malt backing.

The packiaging looks "cool" but that is not what beer should be about.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2011 05:06:53 | More by crossovert

riored4v

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed on 1/21/11

Poured in to a pint glass. Hazy, copper colored body. White, 1 finger head that faded fast.

Aroma was slightly earthy, spicey and floral. Mellow maltiness. Very light metallic aroma as well that was slightly off-putting.

Taste was very fruity. Some ester flavor and a slight earthiness. Grainy, malt flavor. Hints of caramel. Somewhat of a yeasty flavor. Light bitterness.

Mouthfeel was a medium body with a medium carbonation. Slightly dry.

Drinkabiliy was pretty good. Some slight off-flavors but light bitterness made it drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2011 04:41:33 | More by riored4v

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bright disco purple bottle label. Not sure who Belhaven is targeting with that one. Hazy orange color with a few floaties that found their way in from the bottle conditioning. Marrow yellowed white head is big and bubbly. Fair retention and lace.

Aroma is tobacco leaf herbal hop spice and rich, dark soil. It's earthy. I like it. Buttery biscuit malt and black pepper melange as well. Earthy as all get out.

Taste features more tobacco leaf herbal spice and and an odd orange citrus marmalade sweetness. Buttery as all get out. Body is soft and fluffy.

I do love me an earthy beer but the butter gets to be a bit much by the end of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2011 01:20:51 | More by donkeyrunner

flipper2gv

Quebec (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Nice light amber color, tiny bit cloudy. Creme white head with correct retention and ok lacing.

S: Most definitely biscuit malts are in this. A lot like butter biscuits. Definitely more on the english side (challenger I suppose) of hops than american (Cascade). I get red apple smell, honey, pineapple and very light grapefruit. A tiny bit flowery and peppery.

T: This is really good. Pretty sweet too. Again, malts are quite dominant here with strong biscuit malts, butter and honey. More bitter than expected in the smell. Some piny hops are there with light grapefruit. Pineapple and apple are still in there as well as the flowers and peppers.

M: Medium mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Fits the beer well. Really typical English creamy mouthfeel.

D: Balanced brew, nothing is aggressive really. Easy to drink for sure, and even more during the hot days of summer.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 00:28:09 | More by flipper2gv

Brad007

Vermont

3.55/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a light golden-yellow color with a one-finger head into my glass. Good presentation.

Aroma is slightly skunked with a mild hop/malt presence upfront. Not much else beyond that.

A good dollop of hop bitterness greets the taste buds, followed by lightly buttered malt. Bitterness fills the mouth in a decent manner.

Buttery malt and mild hop bitterness stick around in the back of the throat.

I would probably not use a clear bottle. Regardless, this is a middle-of-the-road take on an english IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2011 00:10:47 | More by Brad007

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It has a golden/copper like colour with a nice white head and also has a bit of lace on the glass.

Smell: The aromas give out hints of caramel, toffee and citrucy fruit.

Taste: Like the aromas, it's very malty with flavours of caramel and toffee at the beginning but ends on more of a hoppy/cirtucy note. It also ends with a certain bitterness.

Mouthfeel: It's a good smooth medium boddied beer with medium carbonation.

Drinkability: It's a nice drinkable beer accompanied with good flavours.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2011 01:05:16 | More by SebD

rjochman

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Claddagh Irish Pub in Pittsburgh, PA

A: Pours a gold color with white foam and a good amount of lacing down the glass.

S: Main smell includes caramel hops and sweet citrus.

T: A lot of hops to start with and has a good balance between the bitter and citrus flavors.

M: Medium body and carbonation. Really smooth feel

D: An easy beer to drink. Can easily have a few of these and enjoy them.

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2011 00:36:06 | More by rjochman

thegodfather2701

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A-This beer pours a honey color with a white head that dissipates very quickly.

S-Floral in that classic English Ale way and balanced out with plenty of malts.

T-Very balanced between hops and malts. It has a nice caramel/toffee flavor. Not very complex.

M-Pretty thick for the style.

D-Very drinkable beer given its abv. and balanced flavor.

Overall, very drinkable and refreshing beer. However, it is not for hopheads because it barely has any more hops than the average English Pale Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

12-12-2010 14:28:02 | More by thegodfather2701

Jayli

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap 12/8/10 at British Beer Company in Walpole, MA, served in an imperial pint glass.

A: This beer pours a hazy copper color with a 1/4 inch of white head that recedes qiuckly. Lacing coats the glass.

S: Nose is dominated by hearty, sweet, caramel malts, toffee and a bit of breadiness, a very minor floral hop character.

T: Taste starts big and malty. Caramel through and through. The middle is nothing but a bread and yeast. Finish has a strong floral hop presence, minor citrus bite mingled with a bit more caramel sweetness.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, thick oily feeling to this one - just coats the tongue.

D: Goes down easily, somewhat tasty, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style.

Serving type: on-tap

12-10-2010 18:04:22 | More by Jayli

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap 12/8/10 at British Beer Company in Walpole, MA, served in an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains caramelized malts, floral hops and some citrus.

T: The taste starts with a decent burst of hops bitterness that is quickly followed by mildly sweet flavors of caramel and citrus. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, this is a nice solid beer worth drinking for a long time.

Serving type: on-tap

12-10-2010 01:52:31 | More by TheManiacalOne

9InchNails

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Gold body that's decently carbonated. White head. Nothing too impressive as far as looks, maybe it will look better after a few.

As I opened the bottle a skunkish metallic smell rushed into my nose, leaving me to believe this is going to be gross. While in the glass spicy hops, slight citrus hops and a maltiness thrown in. It smells so much more pleasant in the glass.

Very smooth, lightly carbonated. Nothing biting my tongue. Feels nice.

I thought this was going to taste like piss from the smell but it actually has a nice taste. Citrus hops, barley, maybe lemon and honey. It tastes sweet almost refreshing like an iced tea, then a slight crisp bitterness comes in at the end. Very interesting taste from other IPA's I have tried.

I could have another one of these. It's refreshing, smooth and easy to go down.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 03:04:02 | More by 9InchNails

Dentist666

Russian Federation

4.47/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours orange, slightly turbid beer with close decent golden head.
Smell - citruses & resiny hops, quite good & crisp.
Taste - well-balanced, malty body, accomplished by mighty hop accord, lingering for a long time, low carbonation, highly recommended specimen of the Scottish Brewing!

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 20:48:14 | More by Dentist666

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a pale orange colour with nice white head and rings of lacing after each sip. Big floral and earthy hops with bicuit and caramel malt backbone. Defintely an English IPA, but it seems to be more hop forward than most. Great balance of bitterness and malt. It would easy to down several pints of this.

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2010 21:26:17 | More by kwjd

smakawhat

Maryland

2.85/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance of a orange/yellowish color, slightly opaque. No head whatsoever but still manages to leave a concentric ring of white bubbles along the edge down to the last drop. No lacing whatsoever.

Smell is very closed. A bare whiff of Mcintosh like tart apple and some orange.

Taste is weak, watery, some lemon and almost vegetative zucchini like, with at least a decent hop finish.

Drinkability pretty simple, but I don't want another thanks.

Serving type: on-tap

11-07-2010 23:14:04 | More by smakawhat

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml Bottle

Appearance - The beer pours a clear golden yellow colour with a fair size frothy and foamy white head. There is a very low amount of carbonation showing, and there is a little bit of lacing. The head stuck around for a few minutes before it dissipated.

Smell - hops, caramel, malts

Taste & Mouth - The carbonation level is a little below average, but the beer still has a nice light feel to it. It has a nice balance of malts and hops. Almost as if it is trying to be a beer to appeal to everyone, no matter what their preference is. There is also some citrus zest flavour and some caramel. It finishes with a bittersweet after taste.

Drink - Definitely a beer worth trying. It's nothing spectacular, but it hits the spot nicely.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2010 23:16:45 | More by spinrsx

FourQuarters

New York

3.33/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from an attractive 500 ml bottle into a British nonic glass.

Appearance - Opaque golden-orange with a large off-white head and lively carbonation.

Aroma- Very light, crisp and clean with a mild citrusy hopiness and faint malt notes.

Taste - Begins very mild and opens up intoa big hoppy middle. Ends with a mild, lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Sharp carbonaton with a light body.

Drinkability - I enjoyed this well enough, but not something I'd drink all the time. I think it would drink better with food.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2010 03:49:27 | More by FourQuarters

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.25/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle served in a standard pint glass.

L - slightly hazed golden color with a fluffy white head that thinned out some but still left pretty thick lacing.

S - earthy and floral aroma.

T - very good tasting beer, sweet malt and hoppy bitterness are well balanced with the bitterness winning out on the finish.

F - medium bodied with good carbonation.

D - good drinkability.

This just might be my favorite English IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 23:43:42 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

BevMoAndrew

California

3.93/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Belhaven Twisted Thistle pours a clear golden straw color in the glass with a thick white froth, pretty lacing, & really good retention. A very attractive beer. The nose is obvious, yet not overwhelming. Perfuming from the glass are aromas of piney hop resin, green tea, orange peel, lemon zest, toffee, & subtle honey glazed cornbread biscuits. However, there is a noticeable skunkiness to the beer that I just can't get past. (Unfortunately, bringing down the score slightly) Medium bodied, the beer has a smooth dryness , yet noticeable hop bitterness & an almost creamy carbonation. The beer balances the flavors found on the nose & finishes with a crisp green apple & asian pear. Overall, the Twisted Thistle is an amazing example of the English style IPAs & definitely recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2010 22:06:32 | More by BevMoAndrew

jkrich

Indiana

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a murky, honey-gold with a slowly receding white head; very little lacing. There are lots of suspended particulates visible. The bottle has no freshness date.

The aroma is quite intense with earthy malt and alcohol like aroma. I can almost detect a sherry-like odor. The bottle states cascade and challenger hops were used, but I could not readily detect it.

The initial flavor is a slight candy sweetness and vanilla which is followed by a faint bitterness from the hops. A hint of sourness is noticed in the aftertaste.

The carbonation is quite restrained with a light to medium body. It does leave a nice, subtle bittersweet flavor on the palate.

This is a pleasant, quaffable english style IPA. It is very refreshing for a late summer evening. I suspect it would be even more so if the ale were fresher; right from the source, this would be superb.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2010 22:48:30 | More by jkrich

mjurney

Texas

3.85/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance:
Deep amber-golden color, very clear. Lots of nice bubbles. Foamy head, lacing kinda stick on the glass.

Smell:
Aroma is very mild. Sweet caramel malts, fruity, slight hint of green apples.

Taste/Mouthfeel:
Malty up front, biscuity, slight caramel, touch of honey. Hop character is very mild, slight lemony-herbal. Fruitiness in the middle, peaches with slight hint of dry green apple. Finish off very smooth with sweet-dry aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel, carbonation feels nice.

Drinkability:
Very drinkable. Very mild IPA, yet very complex in flavor. Very nice.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2010 18:36:09 | More by mjurney

keithmurray

Louisiana

3.53/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Crisp, golden amber colour, thick white head

smell - floral bouquet with citrus undertones (grapefruit, lemons), tea leaves

taste - bitter hops upfront, semi-sweet citrus notes (grapefruit), green tea

mouthfeel - bitter upfront, medium bodied, nice carbonation, bitter/dry finish

drinkability - nothing too exciting here, i'm glad I tried this though

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2010 04:36:36 | More by keithmurray

Amalak

New York

3.18/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had out of a bottle that I got from the distributor.
A- It is bubbly, very bubbly, and deep gold in color. There is some head and lacing.
S- It has a sweet fruity scent.
T- For an IPA, the sweet fruit comes through. Almost strawberry. There is no real maltiness at all and the hops don't jump through much either. Actually, more like a watermelon IPA. Meh.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2010 17:23:25 | More by Amalak

BeerNinja007

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500mL bottle from the Lebanon Co-op grocery. Served cold in a chilled pint glass.

A: Had to pour hard to get 1" of eggshell foam whose texture of frothy tiny bubbles interspersed with much larger ones makes it look like the cratered surface of the moon. Brew is semi-cloudy with brown sand grain-sized chunks floating about. I'm not a fan of the chunks. Head settles to a meniscus along the glass that eaves some spotty swirls of foam lace.

S: Semi-sweet caramel-y malt and a bit of yeasty funk. Not much hop, but maybe it just needs to warm up a bit. Yep, some lemon hop does emerge from amongst the yeasty funk.

T: Good dose of rounded lemon hop on a semi-sweet caramel/ honey background. Also some florals. Again some yeasty funk fights with the hops for domination, but here the hops have a slight edge.

M/D: Moderate body, fizzy carbonation. Mediocre. Fairly drinkable. I won't be seeking it out again. The floating chunks and yeast funk were a bit much for it to overcome. Take those away and I'd consider it worthy. Hops are too subdued for the style.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2010 20:28:16 | More by BeerNinja007

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.73/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

After an enthusiastic response from the bartender, I was excited to try this one at the bar. The bottle was served with a very cold nonic pint, so after waiting a while, I poured this one. An orange color with heavy yeast suspension topped by a nice white head of about a finger. Slight lace deposits.

The nose is lead by diacetyl with hops in the back. Butter, mixed with toasted grain, and caramel notes from the malt. Hops bring an earthy, citric note. Tastes similar, with the hops going from citric to a lighter fruity profile. Unfortunately, I didn't find the hops doing a whole lot anyway.

Smooth and silky mouthfeel that is by far the highlight of this beer. The malts are too assertive even for the English style, but there are enough little things going on around the edges to make this a pretty good sipper overall.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2010 15:53:17 | More by BretSikkink

trevorjn06

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a hazy, rich golden color with 2 fingers of white, fluffy head that dissipates after a minute and leaves a frothy lacing on the glass.

Aroma (still cold at the moment) is some citrus and lightly grassy hops with a sweet malt presence in the background. As the beer warms more nutty and grainy aromas emerge, as well as a faint mineral smell. I'm used to American IPAs and the hops are much more reserved here but still very up front.

Taste is a familiar Belhaven malt profile, but a bit more dry than usual. There is pale malt, nuttiness and some caramel along with a light bit of fruit, this leads into a more dry and hop bitterness focused flavor with the bitterness increasing towards the finish. Lingering hop citrus and nutty malt remains.

Mouthfeel is medium with slightly above average carbonation.

Overall a very easy drinking, delicious and well balanced IPA. I would like to drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2010 04:35:16 | More by trevorjn06